Microsoft extends software donations to not-for-profit organisations

Microsoft has announced an extension of its software donations programme that is designed to give not-for-profit organisations access to its software including Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft Sharepoint 2010. It has added three new categories of nonprofit organisation including amateur sports and recreational organizations, which I’m guessing means all the small community sports groups I used to help as a local councillor will now be eligible.

If you’re part of a not-for-profit then don’t ask me for more information as you can read all that I know in the full announcement.

What I particularly like about this is how Microsoft has created a neat little viral mechanism with some copy and a video for people to pass on to people they know that are involved in running not-for-profit organisations. I know from my own voluntary work and experience as a local councillor how hard and confusing it can be for volunteers and paid staff to access the plethora of different schemes that exist.

The copy:

To my favorite nonprofit:

I think the work you do in our community is amazing. I know how challenging it is to try and do more with less.

So how can you boost productivity, raise more funds, increase your reach, and deliver new or better services in our community? How about a donation of software from Microsoft? I wanted to make sure you know that eligible nonprofit organizations can request a software donation. There are still many nonprofits that don’t know about the donations program. Do you?

Maybe you already knew all this. If so, that’s great. I want you to keep doing good stuff in our community, and know that access to the latest technology can help. It would be great if you could share this note with other nonprofits too.

By spreading the word, together, we can help millions of nonprofits get access to the technology they need to best serve communities worldwide.